Preamble

Well this feels strange. Coming of the Season 2 train for The Last of Us has been odd, but glad to become a full time movie blogger once again. With that in mind, have you seen Ballerina. Let me know in the comments below.

Brief Consideration

John Wick felt like a breath of fresh air in a cinematic landscape where universes seem at bursting point. It combined organic and efficient world-building that fostered a Russian doll-style unravelling of its universe. This aspect coupled with a dry wit and an effortless subtle swift in genre resulted in an ultra-violent soap opera franchise. It is with this paradigm in mind that Ballerina enters the fray. 

John Wick’s first spin-off is an interesting and impressionist film that blurs the line in its universe-building. Set in between the events of the third and fourth film, Ballerina tells the story of an aspiring assassin called Eve (Ana De Armas), who stumbles upon a clue, leading her on a retributive path for her past that puts her on a collision with John Wick (Keanu Reeves). 

Many of the best filmmaking moments in Ballerina are medium shots where the audience’s view is obscured or blurred, whether it’s through the use of fire or water. The technique gives us a faint impression of what we’re seeing. It’s also key for illustrating Eve’s journey and how it’s not seeing the forest for the trees.

Her vengeance is singular and selfish but does not take stock of the historical pact or cycle she’s undoing. It’s this aspect that makes the movie intriguing. Much like the character, the audience is caught up in the fulfilling promise of exacting revenge, but we soon find ourselves caught up in the larger ramifications of the story and themes. 

In this regard, Ballerina retains the narrative and world-building acumen of the mainline series. But in incidental moments, it also captures the darkly comic edge of my favourite entries. Moments such as a Chaplin film being used as a punch line to a killer blow or an amusing riff on Chekhov’s gun (involving a violent barmaid being locked in a room) illustrate this aspect in spades.

Ana de Armas delivers on the promise she showed in her brief appearance in No Time to Die. She brings a scrappy physicality that combines with forthright line deliveries that hide a deeply wounded interior. And Keanu Reeves delivers some subtle moments of empathic resignation in his brief appearance as Wick. Much like his performance, Ballerina works because of the notes it plays. It gets us to pause as opposed to wishing the bubble would just burst.